The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes has found that Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea had a much higher rate of mortality from major infectious diseases than any other home.
The report states that of the 6,079 babies born at Sean Ross between 1931 and 1969, 1,090 of them died there.
Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea was an institution owned and run by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
The report found that 6,414 women and 6,079 children stayed there in its 38 years in operation.
In terms of living conditions, it’s described that buildings were not connected, and that access to the maternity hospital was through the farm yard.
The maternity unit also “lacked basic equipment”, and some mothers in Sean Ross slept in former stables.
The institution “became overcrowded shortly after it opened” in 1931.
It experienced several outbreaks of diphtheria during the 1930s and 1940s, an experience not shared in any of the other homes analysed.
In 1944, Sean Ross also experienced a major typhoid epidemic, leading to the death of seven women.
Consequently, the report notes that Sean Ross “had a much higher incidence of mortality from major infectious diseases” than any other home.
Information on the entry paths of mothers to these homes were largely incomplete.
In fact, there’s no information about 99 percent of the mothers admitted to Sean Ross Abbey.
In the 1960s, three out of every four children leaving Sean Ross were adopted.
The Commission Report finds that allegations of foreign money for adoptions are “impossible to prove and impossible to disprove”.
However, one person adopted in the USA in the 1950s came forward with documentary evidence of the costs of his adoption.
This included an airfare of $273 and a $142 payment to Sean Ross.
